Pre-Grade Pokemon Cards For The Best Results!

[@flufffysrevenge]

I love when i go on youtube looking for info and i find a video that gives me every answer i was looking for thanks!

[@KrispyChurro]

I think it’s pathetic that your card grade will ultimately depend on whether or not the grader is in a good mood that day or not. The fact a prestige card can possibly end up a 9 and a slightly minor imperfection one can be a 10 is ridiculous. I know it’s part of the hobby and it “validates” a card but the price people are paying to send their cards to be graded doesn’t match the service.

[@its_rima_yeah]

That's why tag grading is the future it's all done digitally

[@wanderbread4217]

should go through 3 graders that unknowingly have knowledge of the cards grading before them. then take add up the grading score to decide. otherwise scanning cards should just be the new way

[@tonyd0001]

Crack slab and resubmit its not that serious

[@dantosinferne]

this was insightful, thank you. I just got back into the hobby, was really enjoying the 'hunt' for best price-to-quality cards to fill out my old collection. never really had much interest in grading as it seemed a bit of a scam, and i just wanted a few nice binders + sealed products, maybe a few choice cards in displays. But man, i really enjoyed inspecting cards, not sure why. I did end up buying a couple cgc 10s, so I decided to sit down and look more carefully at the actual quality of the cards and see if I could detect why my cgc 10s weren't considered pristine. 3 of the 4, i could see the small imperfections that likely knocked it down from pristine. the 4th i could barely see any issue with the damn thing except for a VERY small imperfection in the texture. it was a bit bizarre and disheartening to see, especially looking at some of the 'bad' grades floating around out there. and looking at some of the raws i bought feeling like i got an especially nice copy. Those nicer cards sure didn't look as nice as i hoped LOL still very nice, but a couple small dents. In fact one of the cards in best condition has the same damn line-dent thing you showed here, and it was otherwise super minty. I heard any kind of bend or crease immediately knocked you down to 6 so it was disheartening to see such a crazy beautiful card still not worth sending lol BUT i'm so new to this, so i came here to look for a little more information on actually grading. I know it's subjective to an extent, but you did a great job explaining the general idea, loved the examples. whitening is simultaneously the easiest one to notice at the hardest. LOL dents at least show up great in the right light and centering can be seen at a glance if you have an eye for portions. but that damn whitening sometimes just completely disappears lol thank you for showing and explaining all this!

[@misterroast5544]

In terms of whitening arent a lot of cards prone to whitening even if pack fresh due to the cutting methods they have specially for English cards? And shouldn’t grading companies take that into account? I pulled some great cards from 151 and Vstar fresh out the pack straight into sleeve and toploader and there’s still whitening on sides and corners of some. Varies obviously. Also I don’t think whitening means the sides of the cards it’s more the peeling of the color mostly in the backside of the card. So if u see white where blue is supposed to be then that’s whitening not when ur looking at the side of the card directly

[@JavaAkuma]

If you have any other insights for pre-grading, feel free to post them below! Would love to hear about your experiences.

[@007cryptonut]

I'm glad you threw up the 'objectivity' of the individual grading them @ any grading company. That is the finality of the card; depending on the mood of the grader. Again; I dig your content - keep it up!! Hit It!!!

[@BlackbeardPirate91]

Great video 🏴‍☠️

[@allenporter4333]

Have you run into cards that have like raised lips on the corners from maybe bad die cutting? I seem to be getting a ton of those. No whitening, great centering, I just don’t know if I should send in those cards with that raised lip.

[@kakakakamilllo6333]

I wonder what the whole sheet looks like where the cards are cut out

[@ThatFlyinRyan]

I look at the backs the backs tell a story on centering if the backs off ive noticed the feonts definitely off too and what ever way its shifted it will be shifted that way front and back

[@Nick-vv4tp]

Lately with the scarlet and violet era I’m noticing the corners aren’t as rounded and have bumps from factory. Anyone else?

[@AdamAtwood-ik7xe]

It’s not bumps it’s dust or other stuff in the air gets in the paint and leaves a bubble in the surface of the card I’ve had 15 Ralts illustration rares they all had these bubbles very frustrating

[@Nick-vv4tp]

@ I would be pissed too! You would think one of the ralts would be Psa 10 worthy but no. Either goes to show how hard it is to get a 10. Haven’t been able to make a good batch of sv era cards to send to Psa latley

[@tobiasholding855]

Hey can i contact you on some social app? I wanna send you pictures of my S&V ralts? Its very mint but its a little off center on the back. I need help determining if its a psa 10​@@AdamAtwood-ik7xe

[@jonathantsang2391]

How do bumps on edges from factory cutting affect a grade?

[@_Ant67]

Can’t wait for TAG to be the top grading company for Pokemon cards since the grading won’t be subjected to human employee “feelings”

[@JavaAkuma]

Id be surprised if that ever happens but good luck to em!

[@cesarkrusaders4742]

Great video 🤝

[@cactuarcollectibles]

Thanks, very helpful

[@MattR89]

You should add your opinion on which cards you would send to the grading company. For example, like you were talking about the dent. You would most likely send to CGC. But with the other cards in their condition. What grading company which you send that particular card to and why.

[@JavaAkuma]

The only card being sent for grading in the video is the last rainbow rare. The rest are being sold raw.

[@MattR89]

@@JavaAkuma ah, got ya! Well keep it up, you've helped me a ton lately with my questions about grading cards! Love your videos.

[@JavaAkuma]

@@MattR89 Thanks for watching!

[@islamavan1789]

The dents in that card on the back what psa would it be the card you was showing you didn’t say

[@NathanPalhares-o9i]

If there’s something near the top of the card it looks like a slight dent but it’s right where my thumb goes when I open packs so could it possibly be just a fingerprint and still get a 10?

[@gaatjegeenrukaangek6]

I’m new to the whole grading thing, but I noticed some identical cardsnhaving slightly differen color values. One seemed a bit darker/warmer than the other. This is not something they use as criteria?

[@gs-732]

What about scratches visible only under bright light? I have 15 year old cards with those light scratches, what's the maximum grade that card could get?

[@self1sch]

Is there any consideration for pringling when it comes to grading?

[@rhysmuir]

What about print lines????

[@JavaAkuma]

Print lines are another one of those subjective things that seem to get be more important to some graders than others. Vintage English seems to get slammed if the holos have print lines (and in general w/ PSA) but I've had many Japanese Modern cards get 10s with print lines (with PSA). Historically, I think CGC and BGS were a bit less harsh with print lines but I'm not sure that is the case anymore. I personally don't send very many cards with print lines if I am trying for 10s.

[@MannyKunV]

if you WERE to use a "card centering tool" to see if a card is centered or not, any recommendations?

[@JavaAkuma]

I'm really not sure. I've never used one. There are physical plastic ones and ones online where you take a photo and it analyses the card. Could try both and see what you like more.

[@MannyKunV]

@JavaAkuma I've seen some that is a piece of plastic with different measurements all along the sides and corners and center. But IDK how good that is on any card that isn't magic or Pokemon

[@alberturban5123]

I know this post is old but if I can get some help I sent in some cards to get graded my stellar Crown Squirtle SIR was off centered and got a PSA 10 is that normal or did I slip through the cracks? It is a perfect card outside of that.

[@JavaAkuma]

@@alberturban5123 cards can be 60/40 centering and still get a 10. It's all up to the grader. There are def some pretty off centered looking PSA 10s.

[@Trash-Animals]

I’m new to pokemon card grading and I’m paranoid about them not sending my card back to me or switching my card out with another, is this an actual thing that happens or am I just being silly?

[@JavaAkuma]

Ive graded thousands of cards at this point. Ive never encountered that. A couple cards in the past have been damaged by the grading company but overall its a small percentage of issues.

[@samuelroldan268]

I have a Greninja EX "the chase one" and the back has factory lines on the back. Other then that the card is gorgeous. Should I still send it to be graded?

[@nope8637]

If you're not concerned about losing the money that it cost to grade, I would recommend doing it. For one you can always crack the case back open and two it is always fun to grade your own pulls cuz even if it doesn't increase in value you can still say that you pulled it

[@markofbay900]

If a card has a small bit of whitening on one corner, you think it’s possible to still get a 10?

[@JavaAkuma]

@@markofbay900 all depends on the grader you get.

[@mohammed92]

i feel like I recognize you dude. Have you ever worked at Target around 2011 2012 or so?

[@JavaAkuma]

@@mohammed92 I worked at Target for a few years around that time in Gurnee IL

[@tonyd0001]

What are those promos bro

[@ThatFlyinRyan]

Better to buy the card from ebay than TCG player atleast😅

[@FullOnDoubleNamaha]

Many thanks!!

[@TheSonicboom366]

Do you have any recommended cases for my cards?

[@Headless_Harshman]

Wny is this taken into consideration? Its a printing issue. If anything a miscentered card should be worth more

[@JavaAkuma]

Eye Appeal is a part of the grading process and a well centered card to most people has better Eye Appeal therefore its taken into account by grading companies. Eye Appeal is somewhat subjective because there are Error collectors that prefer off centered or miscut cards but that is a much smaller section of the community.

[@Headless_Harshman]

@JavaAkuma true, thanks for the explanation

[@Headless_Harshman]

I got the alt art Eevee recently from twilight masquerade. Was thinking of getting it graded

[@UrBigFan]

You're the first person that said not to use all those tools, thank you

[@JavaAkuma]

They may be beneficial to use in the beginning to get the hang of things and better visualize things like centering but as you continue to grade, they are less and less useful and more and more not worth the time.

[@PokeRetroFan]

Regarding centering, just use a ruler and measure each side in MM, that's what grading companies do, don't just eyeball it like he is suggesting.

[@JavaAkuma]

I would be very surprised if they haven't upgraded from rulers to computers at this point for centering, but if you insist on spending more time than graders do on your cards and want to use a tool, I would suggest a centering overlay tool. It's like a transparent card with measurements around the edges.

[@lincarerom]

Thank you

[@ForgotMyDemonName]

Not sure why you call this "pre-grading". You're just explaining how to grade cards yourself, and trying to match that up with the top grading companies. Which is exactly what i was looking for. I come from comic collecting where I do this better than most. I don't have to chase back issue bins or the hottest variant. I can buy off the wall and know where i stand to make money. This is exactly what i wanted for cards. Thanks